Letter: The Ulster Banner debate raises huge question over unionist desire to be a region or a nation within the Union
A letter from Edward Ferrin:
The ‘Ulster Banner’ is not and never has been the official flag for Northern Ireland.
The ‘Ulster Banner’ was the coat of arms to represent the government of Northern Ireland from the 1920s until it was abolished in 1973.
The official flag of Northern Ireland is the Union Flag, and this has always been the case since 1921. Recently, many unionist politicians expressed outrage at attempts to remove the Ulster Banner from use at the Commonwealth Games.
It is a reasonable argument to say that it should remain – it has been used since 1934.
However, unionist politicians are showing outright hypocrisy when they argue that the Ulster Banner be used as the flag for the Commonwealth Games but wish to keep the British Union Flag as our official flag and God Save the King as our official anthem.
Indeed, a letter by Ian Fawley asked the question: Who would want to lead the country out behind a logo? (Letters, January 17). That is a valid question, but one which should not mean the retention of the Ulster Banner.
Why is the Ulster Banner – the logo of the now abolished government of Northern Ireland – used for Northern Ireland athletes at the Commonwealth Games? If athletes should use a flag and not a logo, then why are they using a coat of arms as a flag?
We must have a sensible debate on a new, official flag for Northern Ireland. The Ulster Banner is not an option – it is an historical emblem of the old Stormont government and never has been an official flag for Northern Ireland.
Maybe there is scope in adopting the St Patrick’s Saltire – which is incorporated within the Union Flag to represent the kingdom of Ireland – as an official flag for Northern Ireland? I for one support this proposal.
The failure of unionist politics to embrace and encourage a separate Northern Irish identity, a separate Northern Irish flag which represents all citizens from all communities and a separate Northern Ireland anthem leaves serious questions about whether unionism wants Northern Ireland to be a region or a nation of the United Kingdom.
Many unionists in Scotland are Scottish first and foremost, many unionists in Wales are Welsh above all else. They are patriotic about their home nation but are equally and steadfastly pro-Union. Northern Ireland unionists often portray themselves as British first than as Northern Irish.
As Pierre Elliott Trudeau – the former prime minister of Canada - stated in 1971: “Uniformity is neither desirable nor possible in a country the size of Canada…There are few policies more disastrous for Canada than to tell all Canadians that they must be alike…”
In the UK, it is also impossible to enforce a uniform identity amongst the nations and regions. Scotland is proudly Scottish; Wales is proudly Welsh – they are both nations. The failure of unionism to embrace a distinct, Northern Irish identity within the context of the Union has had huge, detrimental effects on the security of Northern Ireland’s place within it.
A new flag, a new anthem and a new symbol for Northern Ireland should be embraced by all those who wish to make the positive case for Northern Ireland’s place as a nation within the Union - not just a small region of the UK.
Edward Ferrin, Belfast BT14